Premier League Darts Week 9

You just can’t keep him down. Phil Taylor went back to the top of the league with an emphatic 8-2 victory over his biggest rival Raymond van Barneveld. James Wade and Mervyn King are in his slipstream with Barneveld and Part currently fighting for the fourth qualifying position and they meet in the first match of the night at what will be a boisterous S.E.C.C. crowd in Glasgow.

John Part played his best match of the league last week drawing with James Wade and averaging 99.27 in the process. He also took out his best weekly maximum total so far with a healthy five. In the UK Blue Square Open West Midlands regional final on Sunday, Barney hit a nine darter when triumphing in the last leg against Kirk Shepherd. He faced Taylor in the quarters and was holding a 5-2 lead in the first to six legs race, only for Taylor to get nigh on a 130 average in the last four legs with 11, 11, 13 and 11 darters to win it. Barney must be sick of the sight of Taylor. In January after being stuffed in the final of the World Championships, Barney said “I really don‘t know what to do to beat this man”. Soul destroying stuff for the big Dutchman. Barney leads a convincing five matches to one on the head to head records and is a favourite figure with the Scottish crowds.

Game two sees Terry Jenkins facing Wayne Mardle in a match both must win to have any chance of reaching fourth place and qualification. Jenkins’ form goes up and down like a celebrity diet, beating league leader at the time Mervyn King two weeks ago and then losing to the player who was bottom of the league Jelle Klaasen. Mardle altered his throw last week in a desperate attempt to halt his slide to the bottom of the table but to no avail as he lost 8-2 to Mervyn King. Wayne Mardle’s average 3 dart score is now being set at over/under 89 by Skybet and reflects how poor he has been performing in the League so far. He has beaten this line on only three from eight matches. To put the average in perspective only two other players have fallen below 89 in the first eight weeks, Klaasen on four occasions and Part twice.

The penultimate match sees four times Premier League winner and indeed only winner of the league Phil Taylor play debut lad Jelle Klaasen. There is a huge gulf on the match stats between these two players which is reflected in a best price Taylor of 1/7. Thirteen points ahead on 3 dart averages in the League with Taylor the only man in the tournament averaging three figures. He has a five-one match win record in his favour and Klaasen could have done with an easier game to keep his confidence up after his first league win last week.

The night comes to a close with the one time league leaders Mervyn King facing James Wade. A good match in prospect here, with Wade out to exact revenge on King after his 8-1 drubbing earlier in the league when he was drastically out of form.

A look at bookmakers’ lines shows that James Wade’s individual maximums total has been moved up a point from 2.5 to 3.5 at 8/13 with Skybet, the price the Harrogate bookmakers used at the start of the month for over 2.5 maximums. Similarly the weekly total maximums market has been moved from over 21.5 earlier in the tournament with William Hills to over 27 this week with Skybet. That’s quite a jump. Over 27 total maximums has only been breached in three weeks from eight thus far. More layers are putting up extra markets for the league, including 180 correct score betting but these bets require a leap of faith and serve to illustrate how the layers love uniformed punters cash.

All Premier League Darts betting tips and advice is brought to you by The Tungsten Tipper, the UK’s most comprehensive and successful darts betting service.  For more information and to subscribe, make sure you check out www.TheTungstenTipper.co.uk